He was his country’s liberator, but Zimbabwe was held in thrall to Robert Mugabe for far too long. Today the build-up of pressure of almost four decades of misrule was too much. The military took over a week ago, putting Mugabe under house arrest and toppling his wife Grace from power. Then the ruling Zanu-PF party sacked him as its leader and parliament started impeachment proceedings.

Those proceedings were halted today as his surprise resignation letter was read out. That sparked wild celebrations inside parliament.

People poured on to the streets, cheering and dancing with joy at the news.